It’s Finally Here!
History, food, architecture, more food and cooking in the green heart of Europe
July 10 – 19, 2015
Sulmona’s Piazza Garibaldi, among the mountains
Join acclaimed travel writer and blogger Linda Dini Jenkins for a small group adventure under the glorious skies of one of Italy’s most beautiful regions.
Linda is the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with my Husband — praised as one of the “Ten travel books I’d give my girlfriends” by www.journeywoman.com — and is the creator of the travel blog, Travel the Write Way. Her writing also appears in Dream of Italy, Richmond Times-Dispatch, HealthCare Traveler and AAA’s Home and Away.
Participants will travel to several of Abruzzo’s medieval cities, among the most beautiful ancient villages in all of Italy; will eat and drink very well; will experience two cooking classes and a winery tour; and will still have plenty of time for exploring and relaxation.
This package includes eight nights away:
- 6 nights in Sulmona’s Hotel Ovidius, a short walk from the historic center
- 2 nights at Le Case Della Posta in stunning Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Fee includes accommodations, all breakfasts, five lunches and five dinners, two cooking classes, a winery tour and transportation to Scanno, Santo Stefano, Pacentro and Rocca Calascio by private van. Travel to and from Fiumicino airport included.
Get your hat, your sunscreen and some walking shoes — andiamo!
Just the Facts . . .
July 10 – 19, 2015
Price per person: $2,495
Package includes:
- six nights in the Hotel Ovidius in the heart of Sulmona
- two nights at Le Case Della Posta in the medieval town of Santo Stefano
- all breakfasts
- 5 lunches
- 5 “aperitivi” happy hours
- 5 dinners (including two cooking classes)
- cooking class at Caldora in Pacentro, one of the finest restaurants in the region
- cooking class led by Nonna Aida in Santo Stefano, for a look at regional home cooking at its best
- vineyard tour and wine tasting
- private guided walking tours of Sulmona, Scanno and Santo Stefano
- guided walking tour of the Badia Morronese, the nearby Celestine Abbey
- visit to the Pelino Confetti store and museum
- ground transportation throughout your stay
Antipasto at Il Vecchio Muro
Package Details:
Package is for eight nights for two people sharing a double-occupancy room. Some singles are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Pricing:
Price quoted is per person, double-occupancy sharing a double bedroom. A single room supplement of $250 will be charged to guests not wishing to share a room. Packages are land packages only. Air travel is not included. Transfers to and from Fiumicino airport will be arranged once we know your flight times.
Confetti is everywhere!
Accommodations:
Accommodations are included in the package price. Guests will spend the first six nights at the Hotel Ovidius (right across the street from our apartment) in Sulmona. The modern hotel has a spa, lounges and outdoor garden areas for relaxing and taking in the stunning mountain views. For the last two nights, guests will stay at the incredible Le Case Della Posta, in Santo Stefano. Here, each two bedroom suite will share a bathroom — but by then you’ll all be such good friends, it won’t matter.
Meals:
Meals include a welcome and farewell dinner, as well as daily breakfast offerings at your hotels. The package also includes five lunches and five dinners (two of them what we cook in our cooking classes) and five aperitivo experiences that will include local wines, meats and cheeses.
Transportation:
All ground transportation to and from events and excursions is included and will be provided by private coach. Tim and I will also have a car. Airport transfers will be determined once we know flight arrival and departure times.
Fountains purveying delicious spring water are all over town!
Deposit:
A non-refundable deposit of $ 500.00 per person is required at the time of booking (no later than March 10, 2015). The remaining balance is due by June 30, 2015.
There is only room for 8 people on this tour, so please book early so as not to be disappointed!
To reserve your spot, send your check, payable to:
Travel the Write Way, LLC
18 Broad Street
Salem MA 01970
Proposed Itinerary
(subject to slight changes, as weather & availabilities dictate)
Friday, July 10
- Fly from your home cities to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Dinner onboard flight.
Taverna dei Caldora in Pacentro
Saturday, July 11
- Arrive in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO) in the morning or by early afternoon
- Watch for details about where to meet the van as we get closer to the date
- We will make arrangements for your arrival at the hotel; unpack, relax or walk into town
- Enjoy your first aperitivo with introductions at 6:00 at Casa Linda, our apartment across the street
- Walk to Il Vecchio Muro for dinner to experience some Sulmona specialties around 7:15 (early because we’re all jet-lagged!)
Sunday, July 12
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
- Walking tour of Sulmona begins at 10:00
- Lunch at Da Gino in Sulmona
- Aperitivi around 6:00 at Hotel Ovidius
- Dinner on your own (we’ll make recommendations)
- Optional walk into Sulmona for gelato and the passeggiata
Monday, July 13
Statue: Scanno woman in traditional garb
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
- Tour of the Celestine Abbey (Badia Morronese) begins at 10:00
- We’ll be picked up for a trip to Pacentro, a beautiful village where Madonna’s family hails from
- We’ll have lunch on our own in Pacentro, with time to explore
- Cooking class at the incredibly good Taverna dei Caldora begins at 4:00
- More time to explore after the class and before dinner — we’ll grab drinks and apps together somewhere in town
- Back to Caldora at 8:00 to eat what we helped prepare
Tuesday, July 14
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
- Visit to the Pelino Confetti store and museum at 10:00
- At noon, we’ll be picked up for a trip to beautiful Scanno, famous for filigree jewelry, food and the 25 remaining ladies who still wear the traditional Scanesse costume
- Lunch together in Scanno
- Walking tour of Scanno, including a visit to to Armando DiRienzo for beautiful traditional filigree jewelry
- We’ll grab drinks and apps together somewhere in Scanno
- Back to Sulmona for dinner on your own
The 13th century aqueduct from Piazza Garibaldi
Wednesday, July 15
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
- Completely free day to relax or explore Sulmona on your own — you might want to check out the mercato in Piazza Garibaldi
- Watch for some optional tours that you might want to sign up for, including a visit to a place just outside of town featuring carpenters, honey makers and sausage makers!
Thursday, July 16
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
- We’ll be picked up for a tour of the Valle Reale winery at 11:00
- Your included lunch will be somewhere nearby
- Time for packing or exploring in the afternoon
- We will car-pool for aperitivi and dinner in nearby Marana around 6:00
Friday, July 17
- Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00.
- We bid arrividerci to Sulmona and get on the van to go to beautiful Santo Stefano di Sessanio
- Settle into our rooms and then come down for lunch at your inn, Le Case Della Posta
- After lunch, we will take a walking tour of Santo Stefano
- Aperitivi in the garden outside Le Case Della Posta at 6:00
- Dinner at a fabulous albergo and ristorante (Sextantio) in Santo Stefano
View of Rocca Calascio
Saturday, July 18
- Breakfast served at the inn from 8:00 – 9:00
- We will be picked up in an agribus for our ride out to the country
- Our first stop is the incredible Rocca Calascio: a ruined fortress, and the highest one in Italy. We’ll walk up the last little bit to the top — a gentle hike of about 15 minutes — and take in the scenery and the octagonal church on the way
- The agribus will then take us to our spot for a lunch of arrosticini, traditional small lamb skewers that melt in your mouth
- We will return to Santo Stefano for our cooking class with our hosts Amalia and Nonna Aida, who will create a masterpiece with you including antipasto, lentils, pasta alla chitarra, lamb, special cakes, wines and digestivi — you’ll sleep well!
- All you’ll able to do after dinner is go up to your room and pack for your flights tomorrow.
Sunday, July 19
- You’ll depart the inn in the morning as your flights require — the van will be here for the earliest flight and will take everybody at that time
- If you want to go into the city of Rome (rather than to Fiumicino) to continue your holiday, let us know in advance and we can get you to the Prontobus station and help you book your ticket in advance. You will pay the Prontobus driver yourself.
- Memories begin . . .
Ci vediamo in Abruzzo!
Buon viaggio!
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
